This is one of those cultural neuroses that seem to have disappeared.
But when I was growing up (I'm 32) it seemed to be something that artists worried about. Hell - this is the main reason why Kurt Cobain killed himself.
Bill Hicks was influential in pushing this agenda. With his continual rants about artists selling out, doing commercials or pushing anti-drug messages. Hicks seemed to be obsessed over whether or not an artist was still on 'The Artistic Roll Call of Merit'. And it took just a single transgression to render your entire output worthless.
This seemed to be a very American concern. Since in the UK - we take any such concerns with a weary does of cynicism. Indeed - by UK standards - Bill Hicks was an insecure loser.
One of the original hipsters - in a funny sort of way.
The reason I am writing about it is because I just heard the Marc Maron interview with Joe Rogan. And it is weird hearing Marc bust Joe Rogan for making tens of millions of dollars from hosting a shitty reality TV show called 'The Fear Factor'.
I think Marc Maron is a good interviewer since he exposes himself so much emotionally. And gets straight to whatever is on his mind. But again - the guy is a fucking loser - who worships the dead cock of Bill Hicks and is about a tenth as funny as Hicks - who was only ever averagely funny himself.
Now - the reason I feel that the concern with selling out has died away - is because of the internet.
The internet makes it so easy to rip off content creators (in any art form) that these guys have to hustle fifty times harder than they did in the past just to survive. And as such - I feel audiences now accept this Faustian Pact - that they will not get mad at their heroes for doing what they have to do to survive. In exchange for the artists not really caring about getting ripped off.
Which is why Lars Ulrich trying to destroy Napster was such a weird mental head fuck for music fans at the time.
For me - I have always being cool with artists selling out. I can separate the message from the medium. As Bono correctly says - rock music has had a death cult for the past 30 years - in which fans are quietly disappointed when a rock star lives a long life and reaches old age.
To which, Bono responds, 'Fuck that shit.'
I am a huge fan of Iggy Pop - and never had a problem with him funding his retirement by doing some car insurance commercials:
So - I am wondering how you guys feel?
Do you get upset when an artistic hero does a commercial?
The only way I could be angry at an artist for 'selling out' - would be if I felt they were supporting an economic system which I totally rejected.
Yet - for those fans who get mad - what economic system would they rather have than capitalism?
We have made an interesting move forward as a culture when the idea of 'selling out' has gone from being a reason to kill yourself to a concern that most young people cannot even comprehend.
But when I was growing up (I'm 32) it seemed to be something that artists worried about. Hell - this is the main reason why Kurt Cobain killed himself.
Bill Hicks was influential in pushing this agenda. With his continual rants about artists selling out, doing commercials or pushing anti-drug messages. Hicks seemed to be obsessed over whether or not an artist was still on 'The Artistic Roll Call of Merit'. And it took just a single transgression to render your entire output worthless.
This seemed to be a very American concern. Since in the UK - we take any such concerns with a weary does of cynicism. Indeed - by UK standards - Bill Hicks was an insecure loser.
One of the original hipsters - in a funny sort of way.
The reason I am writing about it is because I just heard the Marc Maron interview with Joe Rogan. And it is weird hearing Marc bust Joe Rogan for making tens of millions of dollars from hosting a shitty reality TV show called 'The Fear Factor'.
I think Marc Maron is a good interviewer since he exposes himself so much emotionally. And gets straight to whatever is on his mind. But again - the guy is a fucking loser - who worships the dead cock of Bill Hicks and is about a tenth as funny as Hicks - who was only ever averagely funny himself.
Now - the reason I feel that the concern with selling out has died away - is because of the internet.
The internet makes it so easy to rip off content creators (in any art form) that these guys have to hustle fifty times harder than they did in the past just to survive. And as such - I feel audiences now accept this Faustian Pact - that they will not get mad at their heroes for doing what they have to do to survive. In exchange for the artists not really caring about getting ripped off.
Which is why Lars Ulrich trying to destroy Napster was such a weird mental head fuck for music fans at the time.
For me - I have always being cool with artists selling out. I can separate the message from the medium. As Bono correctly says - rock music has had a death cult for the past 30 years - in which fans are quietly disappointed when a rock star lives a long life and reaches old age.
To which, Bono responds, 'Fuck that shit.'
I am a huge fan of Iggy Pop - and never had a problem with him funding his retirement by doing some car insurance commercials:
So - I am wondering how you guys feel?
Do you get upset when an artistic hero does a commercial?
The only way I could be angry at an artist for 'selling out' - would be if I felt they were supporting an economic system which I totally rejected.
Yet - for those fans who get mad - what economic system would they rather have than capitalism?
We have made an interesting move forward as a culture when the idea of 'selling out' has gone from being a reason to kill yourself to a concern that most young people cannot even comprehend.